Unloaded open carry does sound pretty dumb to me. Why not just strap on some cordless screwdrivers.....less the battery packs?

FWIW, I can understand the reason to require concealed carry as opposed to open carry in "shall issue" states. I figure it this way - individual States should be permitted to declare that either Open Carry, Concealed Carry, or both are permitted, but they should not dissalow both Open and Concealed Carry.